Introduction
Chaim (Herman Harold) Potok was an American novelist and essayist born into a Hasidic family. He studied at an Orthodox Jewish school but showed an early craving for creativity. At the age of ten, he tried to draw, but his father and teachers dissuaded him from this hobby. A constant theme that Potok addresses in many of his novels are the radical changes in the traditional existence of Jewry that occur with the arrival of a new generation. Potok explores the complex relationship between the two ages of modern American Orthodox Jewry. Potok’s essays and journalism concern a wide range of Jewish history, religion, philosophy, and American and Jewish literature problems. Potok’s works had a significant impact on American Jewish writers. His work helped resolve the conflict between the traditional aspects of Jewish thought and culture and modernity in a larger, non-Jewish culture. His literary works are of great value and are of interest for in-depth analysis and research.
Main body
The novel tells the story of the life of David Lurie, who, at the beginning of the book, is a six-year-old boy who grew up in the Bronx in the late 1920s. David is shown as an intelligent and sensitive boy who is often ill due to an injury sustained in childhood (Sidky, 2021). This character is a child prodigy who asks awkward questions about adult life and catches whispers, sighs, glances, and often barely discernible gestures. He had a curved partition caused by a fall on the stone steps of their apartment when his parents were driving him home from the hospital (Sidky, 2021). David has parents who are Polish Jews originally from a town called Lemberg. They went to the United States after the war, and many friends followed them to start a new and happy life, away from the horrors they saw.
David’s mother’s name is Ruth, and she was the wife of her current husband’s brother named, Max. Unfortunately, Max’s brother died, and Ruth became Max’s wife according to Jewish laws. It is mentioned several times in the novel that David is similar to his late uncle in his love of reading and subtle, sensitive nature. Throughout the book, David develops an interest in biblical science and eventually discovers secular authors who discuss the human origin of the Bible (Zirzotti, 2017). This science is at odds with the opinion that the Bible is the Word of God. Despite the fact that David sees in this a certain echo of anti-Semitism, it is still difficult for him to close his eyes to the scientific arguments that the authors of the works give. David decided to use modern methods of Bible study to start a new life for his people.
David’s character is not so much a person as a means for the author to illustrate the opposition of Orthodox Judaism to anti-Semitism and secular culture. This character is infallible, and he is free even from sexual desire (Zirzotti, 2017). Through him, Potok represents the reconciliation of the requirements of Orthodoxy with the requirements of modern pagan culture. A fascinating topic for analysis and research is the relationship between David and his younger brother, Alex. If David embodies the spiritual search for Potok, then Alex represents the aesthetic side of the author (Zirzotti, 2017). Alex is passionate about English novels and wants to become an English literature teacher. He is sensual and passionate about literature, so Oliver Twist touches him to tears, to the very depths of his soul.
Alex is presented as a practical, sporty, and carefree guy who is very different from his fragile older brother. He develops a love for fiction and wants to be a literature teacher and writer. This character is much more human and has a more believable and close character to ordinary people (Zirzotti, 2017). Alex does not suffer from diseases and terrible infections that have plagued his older brother, David, for many years. At the same time, Alex does not have such a sharp mind and a rich imagination, and he is a more down-to-earth and adapted-to-life person (Sidky, 2021). After completing his studies, Alex decides to explore the modern novels and works of Sigmund Freud. It causes deep grief for the father of the brothers, as he is afraid that his sons will become traitors to Orthodoxy, which is reflected in the far-sighted conclusion of the novel.
It often happens that the relationship between the brothers is not easy since they usually differ significantly in their characters and worldview. Indeed, the brothers Alex and David are very different, both in their interests and character traits. Nevertheless, it can be said that their relations as family members are strong and friendly (Sidky, 2021). Both brothers have a lively and curious mind; they strive for development and to live their own life and not depend on old traditions. They are close friends and colleagues, even despite all the difficulties and problems, which in the end, cannot break the brothers’ close connection (Zirzotti, 2017). David and Alex share a passion for new knowledge and expanding their outlook on life, and they are both constantly learning something new. No matter how different people they are, this is what unites them.
Conclusion
This work focuses on the idea of a new beginning, independence from the usual foundations, and the search for one’s path. The main character refuses to live in the past, even if almost his entire family has lived this way for many years (Zirzotti, 2017). The desire to live with their mind and pave their difficult path through the vicissitudes of life is a common feature of such dissimilar brothers (Zirzotti, 2017). Their relationship is an excellent example of close family ties that are not interrupted despite life’s difficulties and disapproval from other family members.
Potok’s novels transport the reader to a world that is both familiar and completely alien. The author awakens in readers a desire to learn more about this Orthodox world presented in the book. At the same time causes disgust for this closed, ghetto-driven world, which is so afraid and despises various knowledge and methods. The novel’s main character and his younger brother overcome and struggle with this gap between Yiddish, the Orthodox world, and the secular world. They want to preserve and maintain this world that they know and love. Nevertheless, the heroes desire something new, much more than their usual world can offer them, so they do not want to stay in it. The brothers do not want to reject the past, but they also know that life requires moving forward to a new beginning. The importance of family relations and cultural values is revealed through the deep and complex but attractive relationship between the brothers, David and Alex.
References
Sidky, S. (2021). Chaim Potok and the Holocaust. Studies in American Jewish Literature (1981), 40(1), 18-42.
Zirzotti, E. (2017). Between longing and rejection: Antonio Lobo antunes and Chaim Potok. Wenshan Review of Literature and Culture, 10(2), 93-109.